Rivera completes an alliance with Macron for the Europeans: "The battle is between populists and liberals"

A year ago the citizens worked to enter the big door in Brussels. In the last European elections, in 2014, only two MEPs won (UPYD still has four), while we can enter the table with five seats. After the jump to Madrid and in the struggle for the right with Pablo Casado's PP, Albert Rivera is now trying to appear equally popular as socialists in the European Parliament after this spring's elections. And the trump in his hand is an alliance of his group, the liberals of ALDE, with the formation of the French president, Emmanuel Macron. This weekend Rivera is the guest of the Congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), which brought together up to 1,300 delegates from a total of 53 European parties in Madrid to prepare the European elections. There is no representative of the PDECat, after October 27 was officially expelled from the European Liberal Group for the 3% case in which the Catalan education considered a "maneuver" of citizens against the trial.

The guest of honor at this congress is, in fact, the French President's A March platform. ALDE and Macron conclude what will be an electoral agreement for the European Rivera defended this Friday during the inauguration of the party congress. "If we are together we will be stronger," he said, and called for a "broad alliance between centrists and liberals to defeat nationalists and populists". This is the reason why the president of the CS has asked "generosity" to ALDE and "set aside the differences" to "build bridges" instead of "raising walls". "The battle is on the table: it is between nationalists and populists against liberals and democrats, which is why an alliance between the democrats is needed", he proclaimed in English before ending up asking everyone to start working, but the Pronunciation of the English played a trick. "Let's go to 'war & # 39; [guerra]! ", He said instead of" Let's go to work [feina]! "

From the presidency of ALDE, they consider fundamental the role of the connection between Rivera and Macron, who have a good relationship and have been praised for Twitter more than once – even if the French presidency is going through a time of low hours "What we want , as European liberals, it is an agreement, a coalition with En Marxa and Albert Rivera is very important in this, because it is one of ours but Macron is very well known, "said Efe one of the leaders from ALDE, the Dutch Hans Baalen, during the group conference in Madrid. Rivera opened the meeting also supported by the president of the Liberals, Flemish politician Guy Verhofstad, who moved from supporting Artur Mas and the process in 2014 to break the relationship with the independence to support the citizens.

One of En Marxa's founders, Astrid Manoysan, has already given the coalition almost closed. During his speech before the congress, he stated that "defeat is not an option" and that "we must work for a coalition for a new Europe". "Europeans already know who Salvini and Orbán are now.This is the moment to know who we are," he added, after praising ALDE's support on the Macron platform to give them confidence and "credibility" in Europe.

A year to cook the alliance

The pact between ALDE and En Marxa cooked for a year. And the goal of the congress is to seal this alliance. Already in June, CS number two, José Maunel Villegas, met the French interior minister, Christophe Castaner, and announced the creation of a common platform for Europeans in 2019.